


Dark Secrets

by Reidluver



Series: Night Life [3]
Category: Night at the Museum (2006 2009)
Genre: Claustrophobia, Discussion of Death, Friendship, Hugging, Kahmunrah's a jerk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-05
Updated: 2015-01-05
Packaged: 2018-03-05 14:15:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3123209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reidluver/pseuds/Reidluver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Upon their return from the Smithsonian, Larry breaks the news about meeting Kahmunrah to Ahkmenrah. Larry knew Ahkmenrah wouldn’t be thrilled about it, but he never expected what actually happened. The night guard soon learns a lot more about the relationship between the Egyptian brothers than he bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dark Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Technically this story happens a lot later in the series, but this story just flowed in almost one day and I hadn’t really decided on a series by that point, so this one is a little out of order. I’m making my way up to it now.

Ahkmenrah’s back arched as air filled his nonexistent lungs and warmth spread throughout his body. Once he climbed out of the sarcophagus, he checked the time on the small digital clock Larry had given him. Thankfully, it was just after sunset and not just before sunrise like yesterday. Larry and the others barely returned in time with the tablet so there wasn’t a chance to find out what happened at the other museum. Larry said he had a plan to keep the others here, and that he’d go over it with everyone tonight. Figuring Larry would be arriving soon, Ahkmenrah set about getting dressed.

He had just finished putting on his crown when the sound of footsteps alerted him to a visitor. He grinned when he noticed it was Larry, but it fell at the expression on the night guard’s face. “Is something the matter?” Ahkmenrah asked, sparing a glance at the tablet.

Larry shook his head. “Look, I … I hate to tell you this, but I figure you’d appreciate hearing it from me first. I’ve asked the others not to talk about it but …”

"What is it?"

Larry exhaled deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He knew he was making this worse by stalling but he wasn’t eager to see the look on Ahkmenrah’s face. Larry took a breath to steel himself and stared Ahkmenrah straight in the eyes. 

"We ran into Kahmunrah at the Smithsonian." 

The effect was immediate. Ahkmenrah’s eyes lit up with terror and he took a few staggering steps backward. Larry had more or less expected this, but what he didn’t expect was for Ahkmenrah to grasp his own throat with both hands, gasping and wheezing as if he could no longer breathe. 

"H-hey, stop it! Ahk, stop!" _What was he doing, trying to kill himself?!_ Larry grasped Ahkmenrah’s wrists and tried to pull them apart. Damn the guy was strong! Larry thought back to the way Ahkmenrah thrust the lid of his sarcophagus several feet in the air once he was released. Was it possible the tablet give him extra strength?

After a few minutes of struggling, Ahkmenrah’s eyes took on a glassy sheen and Larry knew he needed to do something fast. If he wasn’t strong enough … 

Without a second thought, Larry swung his leg out, toppling the young pharaoh to the floor. To Larry’s immense relief, Ahkmenrah reacted on instinct and released his throat to catch himself. Unfortunately, he was too slow, and Larry cringed at the sound of Ahkmenrah’s crown smacking the floor before rolling away. Larry quickly knelt down to help the gasping pharaoh, only to receive a powerful kick to his midsection. 

Ahkmenrah screamed something in Egyptian and scrambled away from Larry on all fours. The robe hindered Ahkmenrah’s movements so much it was almost comical, but Larry was too busy blinking stars and biting back the pain to offer any assistance. By the time the pain in Larry’s stomach dulled to a pulsing throb, Ahkmenrah was tightly pressed against the wall; hair disheveled, clothes askew, with terrified eyes staring straight through Larry at whatever monster only he could see. 

Larry groaned. He mentally cursed whichever god was responsible for getting him in these situations. If he had known mentioning Kahmunrah would cause Ahkmenrah to go all ballistic on him he never would have said anything!

Getting closer to Ahkmenrah was obviously out of the question. Larry decided to use the tone that helped calm down wild exhibit animals that wanted to eat him or to try and get Dexter to give back his keys. 

"Hey, shhhhh it’s all right." Larry spoke softly with his hands held out in a nonthreatening way. Ahkmenrah’s frantic breathing slowed down a fraction, so Larry risked inching forward. Ahkmenrah snarled what Larry assumed to be the Egyptian equivalent of _“Get the hell away from me!”_ so Larry quickly backtracked.

"Okay, okay. Sorry—no getting closer. See? Not getting closer.” He waited a moment to prove he wasn’t going to move. “Come on—it’s me, Larry. You remember me, don’t you, Ahkmenrah? I’m the night guard at the museum. You know, the Museum of Natural History?”

Ahkmenrah frowned at him, not quite understanding, but at least he didn’t look terrified out of his mind. Progress was progress.

And now with the immediate danger over, Larry’s chest clenched as he really took in Ahkmenrah’s appearance. Call it a result of him being a dad but … Ahkmenrah looked so young. It was strangely easy to forget, with the way the crown made him so much taller and the regal manner in which he carried himself. Larry only caught reminders of Ahkmenrah’s youth in glimpses: when he rode on Rex’s back with Nicky, the way he bit his lip and tightly wrapped his arms around himself when dawn approached, the way he laughed a little too loudly at Jedediah and Octavius’s pranks, the dorky way he danced, and the way his entire face beamed at the smallest compliment.

But now, without the crown, the rest of his Ancient Egyptian garb looked too big on him, like a child playing dress-up. And the way he was still cowering against the wall with unshed tears in his eyes like Larry was about to kill him … _oh._

Oh shit.

Larry bowed his head. This sudden realization made him ill and there was a slight prickling in his eyes. He had never meant to trigger … hadn’t stopped to _think_ that … but in hindsight it all made sense. All that talk about killing people and hatred toward the “favorite son?” Larry rubbed his face with both hands before glancing back up at Ahkmenrah.

The Pharaoh’s eyes were still unfocused, only now there were a few tears trailing down his cheeks. His chest heaved with rapid, shallow breaths. He looked close to fainting and Larry had to fix this now before Ahkmenrah did just that. Larry spared a few seconds to mull over his words before speaking again, putting as much confidence and kindness in his voice as he could.

“You’re _safe,_ Ahkmenrah. _Safe._ Nothing’s going to hurt you here, okay? Your brother is gone. He’s never coming back. He can never hurt you again. I’m here to protect you, understand? Me and those freakishly tall jackal statues,” he said, gesturing to the crouching giants behind him. Ahkmenrah’s eyes followed his gaze to the statues and they both gave him their traditional salute.

Larry watched as Ahkmenrah’s breathing grew deeper and slower. His eyes started to refocus and Larry carefully scooted closer on his knees. Ahkmenrah snapped his attention back to Larry, but thankfully this time there was recognition in them.

“L-Larry?” Ahkmenrah asked in a small voice. 

A wide grin broke out on Larry’s face. “Yeah, buddy,” he said, placing a hand on Ahkmenrah’s shoulder. “I’m here.”

Ahkmenrah let out a shaky laugh. “Sorry, sorry I just …” He rubbed at his eyes with the base of his palms. “I-I didn’t mean … I haven’t …” Larry sat down next to him and was silent as Ahkmenrah struggled to find the right words. A moment or two passed, then Ahkmenrah let out a frustrated sigh and slumped against the wall in defeat.

“I’ve spent so long running from my death,” he whispered.

“He …” Larry swallowed against the dryness in his throat. “It was your brother, right?” Ahkmenrah nodded with his eyes clenched shut. He took a deep breath and released it, before turning to face Larry.

“He came into my bedchamber while I was sleeping,” Ahkmenrah began, voice barely above a whisper as his eyes glazed over. “I had taken ill, but only a few knew of it. I was nearly delirious with fever, so at first I believed I was imagining my brother’s form. He stood over me, far quieter than I’d ever seen him before, a-and then … then—” He carefully traced an outline of invisible welts around his throat, made from hands larger than his.

“I b-begged him to stop, but he squeezed h-harder and said I had stolen his life so n-now he was stealing mine.” A strangled sob escaped him and Ahkmenrah quickly covered his face with one hand. His body trembled from the strain of holding back his cries. Larry hesitantly reached out and gripped Ahkmenrah’s shoulder once more. The Pharaoh froze for a brief moment before lifting his other hand to grasp Larry’s like a lifeline.

“Older brothers should never do that,” Larry said. Ahkmenrah nodded and let go of his face with a sigh.

“He wasn’t always that way,” Ahkmenrah said softly. He turned his head to face Larry and a faint smile tugged at his mouth. “We used to be close. He took his role as elder brother seriously, taking it upon himself to teach me everything he knew. Kah … he even killed a viper with his bare hands to protect me when I had fallen and twisted my ankle.” The faint smile morphed into a bitter scowl. “But soon that all changed.

“My parents could no longer ignore his cruelty toward those who were beneath him. He cared nothing for others, and with my father’s health failing, they couldn’t allow my brother to take his place. They named me next ruler of Egypt, and my brother has hated me ever since.”

Silence fell between them for a time, each caught up in their own thoughts. Larry’s mind whirled from the recent revelation. Even while he was battling Kahmunrah, Larry found it difficult to be too terribly afraid of the Egyptian. Sure, he was obviously completely insane, but the way he acted was so ridiculous it was difficult to take him seriously. But now Larry had proof to the contrary sitting right beside him, proof that Kahmunrah was perfectly capable of carrying out his death threats. To think that Ahkmenrah had been carrying around that horrifying memory for so long …

Larry’s gaze wandered toward the sarcophagus a little ways from them. Suddenly a sickening thought struck him and he inhaled sharply. Ahkmenrah immediately tensed and leaned closer to Larry.

“Wh-what is it? What’s wrong?”

“Y-you … all that time—your brother, what he did, and then … every night you …”

Ahkmenrah frowned, unable to decipher Larry’s babbling, then followed his gaze to the sarcophagus. It took him a second to make the connection, and when he did the fear came flooding back a hundred-fold.

He had always understood the correlation between the method of his death and the forced imprisonment within his sarcophagus _(it was impossible_ not _to),_ but it was deceptively easy to lie to himself. Only now with Larry here beside him, a living, breathing person who knew, who understood—

Ahkmenrah couldn’t hide any longer.

The terror and desperation that gripped him every night he lay trapped in that sarcophagus tore into him. The bandages that were tight against his neck were ghostly reminders of his brother’s fingers. The lack of fresh, clean air always brought him back to when he thought he was breathing his last. The darkness was the same as it was that night—there were far too many similarities.

Ahkmenrah curled into himself. The bitter tears he never allowed to fall cascaded down his face and trickled through his fingers. His throat burned and his anguished cries echoed throughout the exhibit room. He felt his face heat up in embarrassment for allowing Larry to witness this moment of weakness. Not to mention the fact that soon enough the other exhibits would hear his weeping and come investigate. He was supposed to be their leader! He couldn’t—

Two arms wrapped around him and held him close. “It’s okay, I’ve got you,” Larry whispered. If possible, Ahkmenrah’s embarrassment grew, but he no longer possessed the strength to protest. Besides, the last person who held him was his mother just before she died. His body craved this moment of human contact, however brief it might be.

Larry felt the pharaoh snuggle closer and relax against him as the tension melted from his shoulders. Who would’ve thought Larry would be comforting a 3,000 year old pharaoh? His experiences here at the museum never ceased to amaze him. Why did he ever leave?

Larry had started to gently rock back and forth when a tissue box entered his line of sight. He glanced up to see Sacagawea crouched in front of him. She gave him a proud smile before setting the tissues on the floor. Her gaze traveled to the weeping pharaoh in his arms and her expression turned sad. Larry then remembered she had once been a parent like him. He mouthed a thank you and watched her leave, her footfalls completely silent on the hardwood floor.

Teddy stood at the entrance to the exhibit room, his expression matching Sacagawea’s as he watched them. He always put forth a great effort to include Ahkmenrah in the museum’s nightly activities, especially when it became obvious that Ahkmenrah suffered from claustrophobia as a result of being locked up all those years. Teddy nodded at Larry and the night guard knew he would ensure the other exhibits wouldn’t interrupt them.

Minutes passed as Larry sat with his arms around Ahkmenrah. As depressing as it was, Larry was grateful to be able to give Ahkmenrah the chance he obviously wouldn’t permit himself. It was moments like these that made Larry proud, because it reminded him that despite his shortcomings he could still make a difference.

When Ahkmenrah’s cries died down to sniffles, Larry held out the box of tissues. Once he explained they were like disposable handkerchiefs, Ahkmenrah tentatively took a few and started cleaning his face.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, glancing at Larry sheepishly.

Larry smiled warmly at Ahkmenrah. “I won’t tell if you don’t.” He swallowed against the tightness of his throat. “You deserve to mourn your own death, pharaoh or not.”

Ahkmenrah returned the smile and dabbed at his eyes with a tissue. “Th-thank you, Larry I … I can never repay your for your kindness and all you’ve done for me.”

“Well, as a matter of fact I should be thanking you. Your tablet has given me experiences that’ve changed my life for the better.”

“Oh that’s right, your um—your new business.” Ahkmenrah looked crestfallen.

Larry smirked. “Actually, that’s not what I meant.” He stood up and dusted off his pants before snatching Ahkmenrah’s crown off the ground. “Ready to hear my announcement?” he asked, holding his hand out.

Ahkmenrah stared up at Larry skeptically, catching the teasing lilt to his voice but not sure what to make of it. “I suppose so,” he said, grasping the offered hand.

The two of them then made their way out to join up with everyone else. As they walked, Larry felt his heart swell with happiness he hadn’t felt in a long time.

He was finally home.

**Author's Note:**

> For those who don’t know, in the original script for the second movie Kahmunrah was going to reveal that he had murdered his younger brother. Since Ahkmenrah doesn’t have any visible disfigurement, I decided that Kahmunrah could have easily strangled him, especially because that way he’d literally feel the life leave his brother’s body. And then that would make his claustrophobia all the more depressing … yeah, sorry about that Pharaoh.


End file.
